What's in a Name
by M1ssUnd3rst4nd1ng
Summary: An exploration of the names the Batfamily use for one another, as a context for exploring the characters and their relationships. Drabble series.
1. Nothing

_Nothing_

* * *

Damian did not require a _nickname_ ; Ibn al Xu'ffasch, heir to the Demon, was above such inanities. Grayson and the other imbeciles Father had taken pity on had already assigned him several such ridiculous titles; he had no need or desire for any more, certainly not from the Batman. It was beneath the both of them.

Damian didn't require a nickname, "chum" or "sport" or . . . something similar, but he had to admit—only to himself—that the acknowledgment that came with it, the comfortable relationship it implied would have been . . . nice.

But he was the true son; words weren't necessary.

* * *

 **So I was randomly musing on the names the Batfamily call each other and was inspired to do a series of drabbles (drabbles being the goal of the month). This one was inspired by the thought that while Bruce has various nicknames for each of his three older sons, he only ever seems to call Damian "Damian."**

 **Still reasonably new to this fandom and even newer to writing it. Hope you enjoyed!**

 **M1ssUnd3rst4nd1ng**


	2. False Starts

_False Starts_

* * *

He was Batman, world's greatest detective and the best strategist in the Justice League.

He was Bruce Wayne, business shark.

He should be sharper than this.

But he was also Bruce Wayne, dad; apparently, not even the scourge of Gotham was immune to one of the universal curses of parenthood: calling your child by the wrong name.

And apparently, not even the Dark Knight, terror of the underworld, was above being mocked by his children for innocent mistakes. His (intelligent, well-educated, multilingual) children who stared blankly at him, pretending an inability to figure out what he was trying to say.

* * *

 **The idea of Bruce getting names mixed up is tremendously amusing to me and I just know the kids would milk that for all it's worth. "What's that, Bruce? I don't know who Dic-Tim is." "Oh, did you want me to go and get Damian, is that what you're trying to say, Bruce? Cause Damian's not here, just me."**

 **I also like the idea that he occasionally does it to Clark.**


	3. Chum

_Chum_

* * *

Bruce had always called Dick "chum." He had sometimes wondered about the uncommon name until one day he had a realization: Bruce was reinforcing that he was Dick's friend, partner, mentor, even family, but not his parent.

On the one hand, Dick had had wonderful parents and would never want them pushed from his life and replaced.

On the other, they were gone and Bruce was all he had in their place and the distance hurt.

In the end, he accepted Bruce was Bruce, a unique role.

(A returned Jason pointed out that "chum" was another word for shark bait.)

* * *

 **Yes, I know, "chum" wasn't that uncommon when the character of Dick Grayson was created, but my headcanon still stands that Bruce was trying to reassure Dick that he wasn't trying to replace his parents. Unfortunately, as usual, Bruce isn't that great with doing the right thing in personal relationships and bats don't talk and clear things up.**

 **Also, I don't think Jason-Mr. "Robins-are-only-useful-to-the-Batman-as-bait" and "He-treats-us-like-we're-disposable-why-can't-the-others-see-that"-I don't think he could have passed up reminding anyone of the more common usage of the word "chum." He never lets anything go.**


	4. Red

_Red_

* * *

Jason had always called Barbara "Red," maybe even from the first time they'd met. And now he had taken the name Red Hood and the Replacement was going by Red Robin, both of which were shortened to "Red" on an almost nightly basis. Which meant there were three Gotham vigilantes who answered to the same name.

Three "Reds" in Gotham alone.

It was more than a little confusing and of the levels of chaos only Gotham seemed to reach, but being Bats, they naturally made no effort to actually discuss it and therefore make any progress in straightening it out.

* * *

 **Maybe it's just me, but it seems like a serious tactical disadvantage to have a name more than one person is likely to respond to. I mean, they can't shorten Red Robin to just Robin for the same reason, but if they actually bothered to talk about it, they might consider shortening RR to Red and Red Hood to just Hood and limiting it to that (Babs doesn't get called Red out in the field much, except maybe by bad guys who don't know how bad for their health that could be).**

 **And this is just the three in Gotham. There's also Red Tornado, there was Red Arrow for a bit, there are like half a dozen red heads, and I don't even know if there are more. Am I the only one getting hung up on this?**

 **Am I also the only one that finds it endlessly amusing how many of the Dark Knight's kids favor red? Even Nightwing went red for a while (thank DC that's over; I'm partial to blue).**

 **Anywho. Toodles!**


	5. Paternal

_Paternal_

* * *

It was ironic (and depressing) that only the children Bruce had the most difficult relationships with called him anything vaguely paternal.

Damian called him "Father," distant and tentative even while he clung to the genetic relationship as if it were the only claim he had to Bruce.

Jason called him "old man" or even "Dad," always bitter, challenging, mocking, as if Bruce hated the familial connection as much as Jason did and throwing it in his face would annoy him.

Stephanie called him "Dad" sometimes, sarcastically, as if she could never actually be cared for as one of his own.

* * *

 __ **I know there are perfectly valid reasons why pretty much no one ever calls Bruce "Dad," but once I made this observation it wouldn't let me go.**


	6. Mini-Bruce

_Mini-Bruce_

* * *

Damian despised the infantile monikers his "family" insisted on calling him. There was one name, however, that Damian minded somewhat less than the others: Mini-Bruce. While he naturally objected to the inherent slight in the first part, he could not logically deny that he was in truth smaller than his father (for now) and that grievance was balanced by the implication of similarity to his father. While he pretended aggravation simply to discourage the fools from growing comfortable with insulting him, the name sent a warmth pulsing through him not unlike the feeling he experienced after receiving praise from Grayson.

* * *

 **This kid kills me. In so many ways.**

 **Anyway, I always thought that Damian had at least a little bit of appreciation for this particular nickname because he wants so desperately to be like his dad (naturally, he can't let anyone else know that).**

 **I love him.**


	7. Replacement

_Replacement_

* * *

"Replacement" had always grated on Tim. For starters, he'd never wanted to replace Jason Todd in Batman's life or Bruce's, had only become Robin as a necessity. But mainly, it had always been perfectly clear to everyone—except, apparently, Jason—that Tim _hadn't_ replaced him, in any way. Jason had left a gaping hole in the family and Tim had never been _enough_.

Then Robin was taken from him, handed to Damian, and he _got_ it.

He'd never legitimately tried to murder the little brat, but then he and Jason were very different people, weren't they? (That was the problem.)

* * *

 **Why does every single bat except maybe Cass have self-confidence issues? Seriously.**

 **Anyway, I love Tim and Jason's weird brotherhood thing where Jason never lets anything go and Tim's caught between hero worship, fear for his life for legitimate reasons, a need to make actual connections with people who understand his life, and frustration because, well, Jason and the shadow he casts and his personality.**

 **I also love Tim and Damian's relationship and how it weirdly mirrors the above, but with obvious and major differences still.**

 **Basically, these idiots need to appreciate Tim Drake more, the idiots who publish this stuff need to appreciate Tim Drake more, some idiots in the fandom need to appreciate Tim Drake more, and someone needs to give the self-deprecating, caffeine-addicted idiot a hug or five.**


	8. Jay

_Jay_

* * *

Bruce and Dick had called him "Jay" during his time as Robin, but it wasn't until he came back and started to patch things up and the old nickname resurfaced that he let himself think about it, examine it closely as he did everything to do with any of the Bats, without worrying his thinking about it would cause him to lose it, and he realized why it was important: because it meant belonging and caring. Safety. Home. It was comfortable and familiar. And it was a first. It was the first nickname anybody had ever bothered to give him.

* * *

 **(Why do I love so many characters that _hate each other_?)**

 **Jason has so few nicknames and I really wanted to emphasize how much his family really does love him, even if every member of this family (including him) is emotionally inept and none of them can express it _normally_. **

**_I_ love this guy. So much. He deserves the world, or at least a hug and somebody who tells him his past isn't his fault (it'd be especially nice if it was Bruce).**

 **I live in a world in which Jason Todd gets along with all of his family members and knows he is loved and important and worthy, regardless of what he has done or will do or is currently doing. That's reality. Yup. I will fight anyone who disagrees.  
**


	9. Fatgirl

_Fatgirl_

* * *

Steph realized early that she was the only Bat to have earned an actual nickname from the bat brat, the only person in the world as far as she could tell that the runt called anything other than a proper name, a generic insult, or a more creative one-time insult.

Sure, "Fatgirl" was still an insult. But insults were the only way Damian ever showed affection and given his well-known aversion to nicknames, she felt pretty special.

She had worked for that title as much as any of the others she'd carried and she was just as proud of it.

* * *

 **Listen up, y'all. Stephanie Brown does not get nearly enough love and credit. She was both Robin and Batgirl, the only person in the world to hold both titles. And yes, I know she was Robin for like a week and was given the title basically so that she would fail and Tim would come back, but she rocked it. And listen, this is a girl who realized her dad was a criminal and decided to do something to stop it; she literally became a superhero** ** _fighting her own father_** **, which is a hard thing to do. And she was like "I need to hide my face," but because she's so extra (literally destined to be a Bat, this one), she designed and created an entire superhero costume, super dramatic and in her favorite color (seriously, such a Bat). And when Batman told her to stop, she told him to mind his own business and punched him (stubborn, another Bat-trait). And later when she took over the mantle of Batgirl, she changed up the costume because she's her own person.**

 **Also, the Batgirls handled transitioning and their relationships with the others a lot better than the Robins did. There are a lot of reasons for that; I'm not at all saying that it basically boils down to the removal of Bruce's direct influence on participants and process alike. (Totally not saying that. At all.)**

 **Okay, yeah, basically, the Bats were never great at communication, but Bruce's direct influence made them worse and the fact that he repeatedly took Robin away as punishment and passed it from Dick to Jason without consulting Dick** ** _who created the persona as a tribute to his parents_** **kinda started a cascading issue there. Unlike the Batgirls, who operate** ** _with_** **Batman rather than directly under him and pass it on when they are ready. But that's a discussion for another time.**


	10. Timmy

_Timmy_

* * *

His parents had called him Timmy when they were around. They said it the same way they might speak of any other expensive item: proud but detached in a "look at what we have" way, without any actual interest in him as a person. They were a married couple, so they had a kid. Box checked. But they didn't actually know what to do with a kid, didn't know anything about him, so the baby-ish name stuck.

With the Bats it was an affectionate nickname, sometimes teasing or joking or cajoling, but always personal.

(They used it less after Damian.)

* * *

 **Tim kills me. And I kinda want to kill his parents half the time (including Bruce).**


	11. Nightwing

_Nightwing_

* * *

It was inspired by the story of a Kryptonian hero similar to Batman, and the more he had thought about it, the better it fit. Nightwing—dark, flying, nocturnal. The name was the perfect homage to the parents who had taught him to fly and the man who had raised him after and taught him a new way to fly, taught him to embrace the darkness so others weren't touched by it. The name held echoes of all of his childhood heroes.

Joining the force, he had found the term was also used for officers cleared for night patrol alone.

* * *

 **Dick: I don't need Batman, I don't want to be associated with Batman, oh, this name reminds me of Batman, I'll take it.**

 **Seriously, he was angry and trying to pretend like Bruce didn't mean anything to him, but everybody except Bruce knew he was kidding himself. Not that I think Nightwing wasn't a healthy and necessary move for Dick at the time, I just think it's adorable.**

 **Also, I was not able to substantiate the idea that "nightwing" is a term for police officers newly cleared to patrol alone at night, but I read it somewhere and it still makes me laugh, so I went ahead and used it.**


	12. Dami

_Dami_

* * *

Damian didn't understand why so many "family members" were inclined to use only half his given name. His first thought had been sheer laziness, but he had eventually dismissed that theory based on their varying levels of activity when using the diminutive. He had also dismissed the theory that it was mockery, having done extensive research into the word "Dami" in every language he knew of and finding nothing worthy of mocking.

Despite Grayson's insistence, it could not be affection: even Drake used it on occasion.

Even if it was, affectionate nicknames were unnecessary and inappropriate. Mother always said so.

* * *

 **Poor Damian, genuinely baffled by affection and nicknames and, you know, family.**


	13. Replacement - Jason

_Replacement - Jason_

* * *

Jason didn't honestly know why he still called Tim "Replacement." They'd been getting along—he actually _liked_ the kid, despite his expectations—and Tim had been replaced as Robin himself ( _actually_ replaced, not just succeeded). And now that he was thinking clearly again, he could see things from Dick's point of view a little more, at least enough to realize that he himself had been the original "Replacement."

So the Replacement had a replacement and Jason was also a replacement.

Really, the whole family was a mess of replacements for the families they each had lost or wished they'd had.

* * *

 **Not much to add, just felt like showing Jason's point of view of the whole "replacement" thing and I am always a sucker for reconciliation between Jason and various Bats, so there you go.**


	14. Bat-branding

_Bat-branding_

* * *

It was Dick who started using the "bat" prefix: the Batcave, Batmobile, Batplane. Bruce supposed that was at least partially his fault for either stamping his symbol on everything or outright shaping it like a bat, but it was a little over the top, even for him. And it was catching. It spread first to Gordon ("Bat-signal") and the League, then the Teen Titans, then Jason and successors—eventually all of Gotham. Now he assigned "bat-missions" and gave "bat-talks" in "bat-speak," "bat-grunts," and "batglares."

Those outside the family were even referring to them collectively as Bats or the "bat clan."

* * *

 **I did try to include Bat-cow, but there just weren't enough words. It cracks me up that the ultra-serious Damian has a pet cow named "Bat-cow" or that Tries-To-Be-Dark-And-Gritty Bruce has a cow in his super-serious crime-fighting cave at all; Damian probably thinks the "Bat" thing is a mark of respect and something of a sign of ownership, and Bruce is just tired and exasperated and picking his battles.**


	15. Dark Knight, White Knight

_Dark Knight, White_ _Knight_

* * *

People called Batman "Gotham's Dark Knight" and Bruce Wayne her "white knight."

It made sense.

In chess, the knight was a defensive piece, dodging around the board, sliding in front of more important pieces, jumping behind enemy lines; it was a strategic piece, the only one that didn't move in a straight line, that could bypass obstacles; it was a crooked and flexible and tricky and strong piece, a heavy hitter that got the job done.

Gotham was his chessboard and he _was_ the knight, on both sides.

And he was eight moves ahead of anyone else on _his_ board.

* * *

 **Maybe it's just because it's a quarter to one, maybe it's because I'm a giant dork, but the title of this one makes me want to follow it with "First star I see tonight." It won't let me call it anything else, either. Or let me sleep until I get it out. So enjoy!**

 **As always, comments, critiques, and constructive criticism are more than welcome as I am always looking to improve.**

 **Have a starry (k)night!**

 **M1ssUnd3rst4nd1ng**


End file.
